Greatest Show on Earth

In the past I’ve been plagued with managing expectations (my own and my field team’s) surrounding our whale encounters. I had to come up with subtle ways to encourage us to curb our enthusiasm for up-close whale encounters, and remind us all that the best kind of field projects are those which are the least destructive, which means that we won’t be on boats, tagging whales, or approaching our study species in any way. For 2016 I didn’t even bother curbing my enthusiasm. I arrived on Strawberry Island bright eyed bushy tails and ready to step my feet into the 18 inches of water that separated me from the glorious 35 ton creatures that I’ve built my adult life around.

Strawberry Island has not disappointed me. This year we’ve been graced, once again, with spectacular views of whales foraging and travelling in our intertidal zone. We’ve seen behaviors that I’ve only dreamt of documenting, we’ve felt our literal boots shake with the breath of whales vibrating through the water. One sunny day as we sat down for a dinner of Spanish Rice a humpback whale joined us with her own meal of what appeared to be pteropods. We literally had dinner with whales.

I typically don’t like to over hype our experiences here on the island, last year I was so overwhelmed with gratitude for the experiences it felt cheap to even mention them. But I realize that some things are meant to be shared. So for those of you who haven’t spent a summer camping on Strawberry Island, or perhaps those of you who have never watched a whale from shore here in Southeast Alaska, these photos are for you.

Sunrise

Dinner with Whales

Silent seals (above water, roaring below)

Good morning whales

Mom and Pup

Otters!

The view from the office

Sunset

View from the water

Harbor porpoise in front of our survey point

A killer whale encounter

Transient male killer whale

View from the water (photo credit L. Matthews)

Up close and personal with the rostrum of a North Pacific humpback whale